Helvellyn a winter sunrise
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:28 pm
Helvellyn 950 metres
OS Map 90, Grid Ref 342152
Started from the car park at Grid Ref 316169
Distance walked 7 km’s
Height Gain 750 metres
10 December 2007
Sometimes i get hare brained ideas and don't usually carry them out, on this day the 10th December 2007 i did. I decided i'd like to photograph the sunrise from the summit of Helvellyn. I left home around 3:30 am for the 90 minute drive to the car park, and set off walking from Thirlspot at 5:15 am. It was pitch black with a cold breeze as i left the car. As this is home ground for me i felt comfortable doing the walk, and all the familiar landmarks appeared out of the blackness when they should. There was no point in stopping the only views were the stars which really sparkled, something you can't see so well in the towns or cities. There was a little snow and ice above the 2500' mark and i reached the summit at 7:15 am, about 1 hour before sunrise. Carlisle and Penrith were ablaze with lights, Catstye Cam just visible as a silhouette.
Catstye Cam and Penrith
The summit shelter on Helvellyn
From Helvellyn summit looking southeast
From Helvellyn summit looking southeast
From Helvellyn summit looking southeast
From Helvellyn summit looking southeast
Its not often you get Helvellyn to yourself, i just sat, supped coffee and waited as the sky brightened to the southeast. A strong wind was blowing cloud in front of the sun which added greatly to the view, one minute it was clear the next clouded in.
The summit of Helvellyn from Swirral Edge
Red Tarn and Striding Edge
Catstye Cam with Ullswater beyond
Helvellyn summit plateau
Looking South from Helvellyn Summit
Red Tarn and Striding Edge
When i did traditional photography about 20 years ago film and chemicals were expensive, so i tended to compose the shots more, now with digital i‘m more trigger happy and i took about 60 shots of the sunrise. Around 9:00 am a jogger in T shirt and shorts raced over the summit and on in the direction of Nethermost Pike, the only person i saw until after leaving the top at around 9:45 am i reached the car at 11:15 am, a morning to remember.
Sunlight on Catstye Cam
Catstye Cam
Catstye Cam
A last look back to Swirral Edge
OS Map 90, Grid Ref 342152
Started from the car park at Grid Ref 316169
Distance walked 7 km’s
Height Gain 750 metres
10 December 2007
Sometimes i get hare brained ideas and don't usually carry them out, on this day the 10th December 2007 i did. I decided i'd like to photograph the sunrise from the summit of Helvellyn. I left home around 3:30 am for the 90 minute drive to the car park, and set off walking from Thirlspot at 5:15 am. It was pitch black with a cold breeze as i left the car. As this is home ground for me i felt comfortable doing the walk, and all the familiar landmarks appeared out of the blackness when they should. There was no point in stopping the only views were the stars which really sparkled, something you can't see so well in the towns or cities. There was a little snow and ice above the 2500' mark and i reached the summit at 7:15 am, about 1 hour before sunrise. Carlisle and Penrith were ablaze with lights, Catstye Cam just visible as a silhouette.
Catstye Cam and Penrith
The summit shelter on Helvellyn
From Helvellyn summit looking southeast
From Helvellyn summit looking southeast
From Helvellyn summit looking southeast
From Helvellyn summit looking southeast
Its not often you get Helvellyn to yourself, i just sat, supped coffee and waited as the sky brightened to the southeast. A strong wind was blowing cloud in front of the sun which added greatly to the view, one minute it was clear the next clouded in.
The summit of Helvellyn from Swirral Edge
Red Tarn and Striding Edge
Catstye Cam with Ullswater beyond
Helvellyn summit plateau
Looking South from Helvellyn Summit
Red Tarn and Striding Edge
When i did traditional photography about 20 years ago film and chemicals were expensive, so i tended to compose the shots more, now with digital i‘m more trigger happy and i took about 60 shots of the sunrise. Around 9:00 am a jogger in T shirt and shorts raced over the summit and on in the direction of Nethermost Pike, the only person i saw until after leaving the top at around 9:45 am i reached the car at 11:15 am, a morning to remember.
Sunlight on Catstye Cam
Catstye Cam
Catstye Cam
A last look back to Swirral Edge